James Biddlecombe
"Great panache...distinctly chic...unabashed and a sharp line in banter."
Sarah Howell - THE OBSERVER
"Baroque 'n' Roll...multi-faced flamboyance....sings everything from Jazz to Purcell."
Elizabeth Hilliard - EVENING STANDARD
"Slick, well presented ...musical skill with panache.... pure entertainment...magic."
Michael Griffiths - Time Out
".....Can work a room, sense a mood, and lead high-spirited communal singing without for one moment losing control of the event."
portrait : Richard Walker
Fay Maschler - ES MAGAZINE
"Pure (or impure?) joy."
Eric Shorter - DAILY TELEGRAPH
"Dramatic...Flamboyant.......fast moving and entertaining........ highly original and versatile singer."
Pat Rush - THE STAGE
"Extraordinary vocal talents."
Aline Waites - PLAYS AND PLAYERS
"Quite outstanding...James Biddlecombe has an excellent voice and brilliant characterisation and timing in a light hearted vein."
Sir Nicholas Lyall Q.C.
"A seriously funny man."
John Hurt
at Ronnie Scotts
James Biddlecombe, known to his friends and fans as "Biddie" has been wowing audiences since he began his career in London at "The Last Resort" in Fulham Road. As half of the notorious "Biddie & Eve" he was resident at Blitz in Covent Garden and they went on to do many T.V appearances as well as touring the country with their band "Smashing Time". He subsequently pursued a solo cabaret career before appearing in his own show "Champagne and Sweet Opium" at the Almeida Theatre.
He made his opera debut with Opera della Luna in a succes de scandale as Lady Deborah Crusoe in Offenbach's "Robinson Crusoe" in which he also played Jim Cocks - a cannibal chef. He has since played four rôles in "The Parson's Pirates" - an adaptation of 'The Pirates of Penzance' by Gilbert & Sullivan - and has sung Normanno in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" as well as Zorah ( the two-hundred year-old bridesmaid and Sir Roderick Murgatroyd in "The Ghosts of Ruddigore"- both national tours. He began his Pantomime career playing Dame at The Theatre, Chipping Norton and went on to The Corn Exchange , Newbury, to Grimsby and Malvern and has appeared in Music Hall at The Players' Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. He has been heard twice on B.B.C. Radio 4's "Midweek" and has appeared on B.B.C. 2's "The Late Show".